Re: packaging an alternative R
hi,
i'll start by responding to andreas email, and hopefully move on to
dirk's once this is done.
On 25/09/2015 3:29 pm, Andreas Tille wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 02:35:25PM +0200, Jonathon Love wrote:
>> hi,
>>
>> i'm wanting to create a deb package for a parallel R installation.
>>
>> the software i'm working toward packaging, JASP, has some issues with
>> the versions of R from CRAN, and i'd like to provide a parallel version
>> of R (based on the older ubuntu versions) that JASP can use, and make it
>> available from my PPA.
>>
>> this is also nice, because it means i can provide consistent R versions
>> across, say, ubuntu versions, without forcing users to use a particular
>> version.
>>
>> i suspect this is at odds with the debian packaging philosophy,
>
> Yes, definitely. I would strongly recommend to avoid this.
>
>> but how
>> else does one handle these compatibility issues?
>
> What exactly is the issue? In how far can JASP not work with the Debian
> packaged R?
so it's both a current issue i'm having under ubuntu trusty, but it's
also a hypothetical issue i expect to have under debian.
essentially, JASP depends on package A. package A gets updated in a way
that breaks compatibility with us (this has happened to us with three
different R packages making breaking changes between releases in the
last couple of years, without warning).
if an update gets pushed out to debian, people's systems update, all the
user's can no longer use JASP.
from here, i can scramble, and try and bring my package into
compatibility with the new package, but this can take time. this is time
where my users cannot use the software.
i can instruct people to roll-back the version of package A, but a lot
of my users aren't that technical.
a nice solution is to provide a separate location where R packages (or
even an alternative R itself) can be installed. JASP checks at start up
if there are alternatives available at this location. if there is, it
uses these, if not, it uses the system versions.
obviously, these alternative packages would need to be available from a
PPA, and that will require *some* tinkering on the users part, but at
least i can provide them the assurance that JASP down-time will be
minimised.
i appreciate there are the "breaks", and ... i forget the name of the
other one; that you can place in the control file to handle
incompatibility, but i don't think these automatically downgrade
packages if necessary.
i appreciate the debian packaging philosophy, but it seems to me that
there are times where having multiple versions installed simultaneously
solves practical problems.
thoughts?
with thanks
jonathon
--
JASP - A Fresh Way to Do Statistics
http://jasp-stats.org/
--
How happy is he born and taught,
That serveth not another's will;
Whose armour is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill
This man is freed from servile bands
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall:
Lord of himself, though not of lands,
And, having nothing, yet hath all.
-- Sir Henry Wotton
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